she's a loner

19 years ago

Hi, I have nine hens. One of them was given to me, she's two years older. She came to us named dirtball, and I don't know what breed she is. She's driving me crazy. She loves to hang out on our deck, she has to hop up a flight of stairs to get there! She's often on her own, but when she is with the flock, she tends to be super bossy. And she won't lay in the nest boxes or even near them. I think she lays from sitting on a roost, since I find an egg a few times a week in the big pile of poop under the roosts. Yuck! Is that weird?

I really can't bring myself to cull her, we took her and two others from a couple that were splitting up and didn't have a place for them anymore.

But I'm wondering, would a rooster keep her in line? Maybe off my deck at least. And if so, what kind of rooster to look for. We have 3 RIR, 3 australorp, 2 buff orpingtons and dirtball.

Thank you.

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Comments (6)

balsam
19 years ago
Renita - I don't think a roo will fix this for you. In fact, I think this is pretty normal behaviour for a new hen. She's not really a loner, she's just "the new girl on the block". It the other two have fit in, that's likely because they were not dominants like she is. Give her some time. I've got six hens from various sources and ages - they don't always all lay in nesting boxes. In fact, the far corner of the coop was the prime target for most layers about 2 mos. ago. Sometimes I still find an egg in the middle of the floor - what's that all about????

Anyway, as long as she's not really a pest to you and not fightting with the others, just let her be. She'll eventually find her place, even if that is on your deck. :)
Roberta_z5
19 years ago
When we integrated a group of 50 four mo. old chickens into a group of 20 that were about 7 mos. old it took them a long time to have anything to do with each other. They would roost together at night, but once they were let out to free-range, the 50 stayed completely to themselves. After about 8 weeks went by, we had a huge snow storm with 18" of snow all around the hoop houses.

I think because they were forced to stay inside for several days, they decided to become a family.
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beeliz
19 years ago
Is it ok to add hens to an existing flock? I was told not to because of health concerns..I hope thats not true cause I want more in the spring,and don't know if I want mine to have hatchlings.
Maggie_J
19 years ago
Beeliz, it is safer for your chickens to have a closed flock becasue even a healthy-looking bird can carry disease that can be passed to your chickens. If you do decide to buy more hens, it would be a good idea to isolate them for at least a month. This is especially important if you have a large flock or expensive birds where you have a large investment in the birds you have.

It is considered safe to add day-old chicks as they are incubator-hatched and never mix with other birds. Of course, then you have to brood them and that is a bit of a PITA, in my opinion.

Why would you not want your hens to raise their own chicks? Broody hens are so cool and with them doing all the work, it is very easy. All you ned is a separate pen, like a chicken tractor, and the same feed and water arrangements you would need for brooder chicks. And it is fun!
GennyM
19 years ago
My muscovy girl, Diego, sleeps on our back porch all night long. We got her a small dog house and filled it with hay since she loves sleeping on the deck. She sleeps in the dog house every night! It's cute!
undercover_owl
19 years ago
Chickens are so funny! There always seems to be an outcast or two. In my flock, the outcasts are: a very meek hen, who is the pinup beauty queen hen, and, 2 tiny Sebright hens, whom the roosters won't look at.

When was this hen given to you? As maggie_j commented, have you looked into the possibility that this hen may be unhealthy?

A rooster might be enough to change her ways, anything's possible. But, who knows if a rooster would even like her, if he has better company with the other hens? I'd recommend getting a rooster anyway, just for the social aspect.